You’ve all probably already seen this kick-ass picture of an Army canine and a Special Forces Soldier jumping out of the back of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter into the water, but if not, here it is (replete with official caption from the DoD site):
A U.S. Army soldier with the 10th Special Forces Group and his military working dog jump off the ramp of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment during water training over the Gulf of Mexico as part of exercise Emerald Warrior 2011 on March 1, 2011. Emerald Warrior is an annual two-week joint/combined tactical exercise sponsored by U.S. Special Operations Command designed to leverage lessons learned from operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom to provide trained and ready forces to combatant commanders. DoD photo by Tech. Sgt. Manuel J. Martinez, U.S. Air Force. (Released)
This is easily one of my favorite pictures ever — if they’d found a way to work a motorcycle and a gun into the picture, it would have been just about perfect — and is now the background image on my desktop.
The image was part of this cool story on Foreign Policy:
Dogs have been fighting alongside U.S. soldiers for more than 100 years, seeing combat in the Civil War and World War I. But their service was informal; only in 1942 were canines officially inducted into the U.S. Army. Today, they’re a central part of U.S. efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan — as of early 2010 the U.S. Army had 2,800 active-duty dogs deployed (the largest canine contingent in the world). And these numbers will continue to grow as these dogs become an ever-more-vital military asset.
Oh, and notice the shoes being worn by the Special Forces Soldier jumping with the dog? That’s right — Vibram Five Fingers (VFF), which are the only shoes I ever wear now (other than my motorcycle boots when I’m riding). Good enough for Special Forces, good enough for me.
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Maybe it’s a girly thing, but I can’t help but wonder about that jump freaking the dogs out some, no matter how much or how well they are trained.
Just thinkin’ out loud here….don’t mind me…
Ok, don’t misunderstand….I love that dogs are part of our military and civilian police…..but if the military dogs are so well trained and well disciplined, why is the dog in that picture wearing a muzzle ?
Why are his front toes splayed apart and his tail between his legs ?
Body language doesn’t lie.
How does the soldier jumping with the dog get hold of the dog before pulling the parachute cord ?
There’s nothing there connecting them and the dog only looks like he’s wearing a flotation life vest.
I just have a theory that this is possibly the ONLY thing military dogs do that they perhaps have to be “helped” with.
Maybe it is against a dog’s nature, regardless of training, to voluntarily do any jump out of a plane or chopper.
Looks like this is a short jump from chopper to deep water. No parachutes. True the dog has front legs splayed. Soldier has arms splayed, too, in prep for impact with water. I bet if he had a tail he’d tucked it in to protect the important stuff. Your comments were thoughtful of the dog — and if that’s girly then good for you.
Ok…scratch the parachute thing….they’re closer to the water and they’re training.
I just can’t help feel a bit freaked out for the dog.
Heh…..just that girly thing again….
(Why am I the only one commenting ?)
Our military service dogs are very courageous and vital to their missions.
I posted this in the quick link section the other day about the fact that a dog was involved in the assault on OBL. I would have posted the image, but you had to purchase it.
We are now using this image on Black Hawk Toughbooks at http://www.PanasonicToughbooks.net There is no leash on the dog. This dog is a Malinois from Belgian. They are the perfect size to be picked up by their handlers, while still being able to attack their enemies and for their shorter coats and fair and neutral colors making them good cammo and less prone to heatstroke, all these are advantages over the previously used dog breeds. The United States Navy SEALs used a Belgian Malinois war dog named Cairo in Operation Neptune Spear, in which Osama bin Laden was killed.
Black Hawk Toughbook has other images of these mighty machines doing their thing, and for what. A chunk of meat………………………..dead or alive.
The Dog and his Owner
To S.B. Smith,
I’m not 100% sure, but I think the dog has his legs splayed because of the wind from the helicopter rotors. He weighs less than his Human counterpart. It looks like it is blowing him around.